England 1-2 Spain: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

#1 Was it a fair result in the end?

Welbeck's goal was disallowed

After a flurry of late movements in the end, Danny Welbeck finally managed to grab a goal back when he pounced on De Gea’s spilled claim. Sergio Ramos primarily messed up a clearance, and de Gea looked to have been fouled on by Welbeck, and hence England’s late equalizer was ruled out by the referee.

The English players did not take well to this, and there were contrasting statements regarding the same from both the camps.

Kane said that the referee bottled it in the end, whilst Enrique claims to have not seen the footage clearly but trusted his custodian who said he was indeed fouled by the Arsenal forward.

Though England could have had an equalizer, they were unable to finish off many chances both in the first and second half owing to de Gea himself. Marcus Rashford’s header was saved by the Manchester United goalkeeper who demonstrated good awareness and reflexes to deny the 20-year-old a brace.

The former Atletico Madrid man then made two 1v1 saves against his club-mate, by using his feet to keep Spain in the game.

He made five saves, and had a better command over the box, coming out of his line to sense and clear danger, something that he was criticized for during the World Cup.

As for the fairness of the eventual outcome, Spain were undoubtedly the better side throughout the course of the ninety minutes, but England’s inability to pounce on the presented chances should not be forgotten either.

Kane certainly seemed to be carrying a niggle or a knock, as the Spurs’ man lacked sharpness and the required energy and movement on the field.

Though Rashford was like a livewire, as he troubled Spain’s centre-backs by cutting in with ferocious pace, but he should have been more clinical to score on the chances that he came across.

De Gea was brilliant in that respect, often judging Rashford’s movements and accordingly saving Spain the blushes, but the English forward surely needs to instil more composure and improve his overall decision-making in front of the goal.

Hence, it is difficult to judge whether the result was fair with respect to both the teams, as England’s lack of prolificacy did backfire, but they could have garnered at least a single point from this outing.